The Baby
by Mindy K
Summary: There's a new kid in the family, but everyone's not sure how to react


The baby  
  
Pre-story to: The Monk Generation Contiues Sequel to: Admitting and The Call  
  
Months later.  
  
It was a normal Friday afternoon. Sharona started to think of things she hadn't thought about until now. "I can't do this." He looked up from his book. "Do what sweetheart?" "Have this baby." He looked at her strangely. "It's a little late for that Sharona." He was right and she knew it. She was already seven months pregnant. "Are you sure we should do this?" He gave her another look. "It'll be fine honey. Just relax." "Relax? How can I relax? I'm about to have a baby." "I'm not worried." Now she looked angrily at him. "Excuse me, but are you going to have a little 'person' come out of you in two months?" "No." "Than what do you have to worry about? All you have to do is get me pregnant and let me do the rest!" "Listen Sharona, we're both in this together." She gave him another angry look. "You are gonna be in soooooooooooooooooo much pain when this baby comes!" Now she had an evil grin on her face. She started rubbing her stomach, and looked at it lovingly. He looked at her a little shocked at what he had just heard. "Can't we just have Benjy?" "Sharona we talked about this nine months ago. I told you I wanted to have a baby with you, and you said you wanted it too. It's not like you're a first time mother. We both love each other, and the baby is a symbol of our love for one another." "I know. I'm just so nervous Adrian." "I know you are." He looked at her with such a loving and caring look that she started to calm down. "I love you, Mrs. Sharona Monk." "I love you too." He put his book down, and then he got up to kiss her. After a minute of "reassuring" kissing, Monk asked, "Can I get you anything?" She replied, "I just want to sit here with you." "I can do that." She giggled. She couldn't have loved him more. Two Hours Later. Benjy came home to find his mom and Mr. Monk (his step-dad) holding hands, smiling, sleeping on the sofa, like the time they first admitted they loved each other. He thought, they both look so peaceful and happy together. He then looked at his mom's stomach. A little bigger every day. He sighed. He thought of something he had never thought of before. I can't believe I finally have a real family! A family with a mom, a dad, and a little baby brother or sister. The phone started to ring. Benjy picked it up before either of them could wake up. "Hello?" "Benjy?" "Yeah." He recognized his Uncle Randy's voice. "Hi Benjy! It's your-" "Uncle Randy?" "Yeah, how did you know?" "Lucky guess." Benjy inherited his mom and step-dad's hate for Randy. "What can I help you with Uncle Randy?" "Oh Gail and I were just wondering how your mom and Mr. Monk were doing, you know with the baby and all." "They're fine." "How about you kid? How do you feel about this 'baby business'?" "It's fine." "Excited?" "Yeah." "You don't sound excited." "I am. I'm just tired." "Oh. Can I talk to either of them?" "No. Neither of them can come to the phone right now." "Alright, just tell them I called would you?" "Alright." "Bye Benjy." "Bye Uncle Randy." He was so glad when he hung up. He was really tired of his uncle's sarcasm and constant calls. He wasn't related by blood to Benjy either so Benjy didn't feel the need to respect him as much. To Benjy, he was a jerk who married his jerk aunt, a perfect pair of jerks. Gail and Sharona never did get along that well. Also Gail just announced she was two months pregnant so now Benjy would have his first, first cousin, who was bound to be as "jerky" as his or her parents were. He sat down in a chair by the sofa that his mom and Monk were still sleeping soundly. He thought about a brother or sister. He took out a notepad, and started writing down baby names, instead of getting a head start on this weekend's homework. He finally narrowed it down. If it were going to be a boy, then the name he chose would be Andrew Christopher or Jason. If it were a girl the names he chose Alice Isabelle, Diana Trudy, Emily, Emma Grace, Nicole, Monica, Melanie, Lucy, Genevieve, Abigail Lilly, and Hermione June. He had more trouble thinking of boys' names than girls' names, so he kind of hoped it would be a girl. Nobody except the doctor knew whether Sharona was supposed to be having a boy or a girl. Monk and Sharona wanted it to be a surprise and so that they wouldn't be hoping for a girl or boy and then end up having the other and then being more disappointed about that than just having a baby was a good thing. It made sense even though they were very curious to see if it was going to be a girl or a boy. When Benjy finished making his list, he checked it twice, like the stories of Santa Clause where he checked the nice and naughty lists twice. An Hour Later. Benjy started to make dinner for his parents, but it was too hard. He cleaned up the mess and ordered Chinese. The lady on the phone was a little hard to understand but he eventually got the order right. He used his own saved money to pay for the dinner. When the man came to the door with the food, he asked where Benjy's parents were. Benjy replied, "Is that your truck being towed across the street?" The man turned around and in fact it was. He ran after it, and forgot about Benjy who took the food to the dining room table and slammed the door behind him and made sure it was locked. He was a lot more responsible than he thought he was. He set the table, and checked the food to make sure it was all there. He waited for his mom and Mr. Monk to wake up, which was only ten minutes. They heard the door slam and they started to wake up, but they were still tired. They both yawned and stretched out. "That was a really good nap." Monk said still tired. "Yeah. One of the best I've had in a while." They rubbed their eyes and Benjy came in the room. "When did you get here?" Sharona said. "About three hours ago." "Oh. What's that smell?" "Dinner." Benjy smiled; he was very proud of himself. "You made dinner?" Monk said a little surprised. "Well, I started to make dinner and instead I made a mess. So, I cleaned it up and ordered in." "How sweet! What are we eating?" "Chinese." "Yum!" After dinner, Benjy asked if he could tell them the names he suggested for the baby. They agreed to listen and they seemed to enjoy the names a lot. "What about you guys? Have you thought about any names?" "Not really." Monk said honestly. Sharona agreed. "Can you think of any names you like better?" "Not off the top of my head." Once again, Sharona agreed. "I like the names you picked out a lot." Sharona said. "Me too." "Ok. What are we going to do now?" Benjy asked. "Why don't we watch a movie?" Monk suggested. "Sounds good to me!" Benjy and Sharona said at the same time. Two Months Later. Benjy was at school around one in the afternoon taking a math test, which he had no idea how to do. He heard over the loudspeaker: "Benjamin Monk, your aunt is here to pick you up." Benjy's teacher told him he could finish his test when he could and told him to hurry and pack up. Benjy was still thinking about math and he couldn't remember a doctor's appointment or anything like that so he quickly packed up and went to the front of school and he saw Gail waiting for him. "Come on Benjy." She took his hand, and started walking briskly. She couldn't really run because she was four months pregnant. "Where are we going?" Benjy asked still very surprised. "To the hospital. It's time." Benjy couldn't move. He knew this day was coming, he just didn't think it was going to come this soon. "Come on Benjy we don't have time!" Gail was almost pushing Benjy in the car. "Sorry Aunt Gail." He got in. She started driving as high as the speed limit would let her go. "My mom's going to have the baby now?" "Yeah. Are you excited?" "Yeah." "They took your list." She stopped at the red light and turned to him and smiled. "What do you mean?" "Your baby name list. They wouldn't leave the house until they found it." "What's the earliest time she could have the baby?" "Any time now." Benjy thought about a baby half-sister or half-brother. "Wow." It was like it just hit him. He was so happy and shocked. They finally got to the hospital around two. When they got there, Randy was already sitting in the waiting room. "Has she already had the baby yet?" "No." Benjy saw his grandmother, Sharona's mother, waiting too. "Hi grandma!" He hardly ever saw her anymore. He hugged and kissed her. "Gail, sit down. You must be exhausted. How's your baby?" "The baby's fine mom." Randy got up and kissed his wife. "Benjy, why don't you sit down?" "I'm too nervous." "Ok. Do you want to walk around the hospital with me? Maybe we can stop by the gift shop and the cafeteria." Randy asked Benjy. "Ok." Benjy didn't really want to go with any of them, but he needed to do something. "Can we get you ladies anything?" "Just some water, thanks." Sharona's mom said. "One for me too, please." Gail was so exhausted. "Sure." They went to the cafeteria and got some ice cream for themselves and water for Gail and her mom. "Can I see my mom?" Benjy sort of knew what the answer would be, but he thought it didn't hurt to try. "I don't know. Let's ask someone." Randy had never been so understanding before. They asked but the nurse said that it was better that they didn't. Benjy and Randy sat down for ten minutes and everyone was silent. "Can we go for another walk, Uncle Randy?" "Sure kid." Benjy kind of didn't like Randy calling him "kid" when he was already a teenager, and he was old enough to drive. They walked for what seemed like hours, when it had only been minutes. They went to the gift shop and bought some balloons and stuffed animals for Sharona. They also bought a small, stuffed bear with a little balloon so Gail wouldn't feel left out. Time seemed to go by vvvvveeeeeeeerrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyy ssssslllllllooooooowwwwllllllllyyyyy. Another hour went by, and still there was no new news. Gail and Randy fell asleep; her head on his shoulder, his head leaning on hers. Benjy's grandmother kept talking to him. Benjy had already read all the magazines at least twice now. {About thirty minutes went by, the doctor came to us and said, "We think it's really time now." "Can we come?" "We'll let you know as soon as you can come."} Benjy thought for a minute. These are my last few minutes of being an only child. Benjy was so excited that he woke up his cranky relatives just to tell them that the doctor said, "it's almost time"; they mostly were too tired to care. {About twenty minutes later.} "Sharona calm down a little honey." Obviously Monk had no clue about what kind of pain Sharona was feeling. "Hold my-OWWWWWWWW!- hand!" Monk was scared just at the tone of her voice. She had been "nasty" to him before, but never like this. As soon as she got hold of his hand, she grasped as tight as possible. He almost screamed in pain. "Now I remember why I used to be afraid of shaking people's hands! OWWWWWWWWWWWW!" She stared at him angrily. "I TOLD YOU." She sounded like a monster now. "Push Sharona! Push!" The doctor and nurses tried to help her as much as they could. "Don't tell me what to do!" "Honey-OWWWWWW-they're only trying to-OWWWWWWW-help!" Monk tried but it was hopeless. She somehow managed to give birth to baby girl. "Is it over?" She now said so weakly, like the monster in her had completely disappeared. "Yes Sharona, it's all over. Congratulations! You both now have a baby girl!" They were both kind of speechless, gasping for breath. It was a stupid question, but the nurse asked Sharona anyway, "Would you like to hold your baby girl?" Sharona nodded, almost completely out of energy, but who could really blame her? "I think my hand is broken." Monk muttered to himself. Sharona held her brand new baby in her arms. She had an amazing look on her face. It was a mixture of being overwhelmed, happy, loving, but so much more. Monk looked at Sharona. Somehow she, like most mothers after giving birth, even through all the sweat, redness, and "hair frizziness", looked her best. She couldn't have been happier. She gazed at the little baby girl, with ice blue eyes and a little blonde hair, like her mother, and a mouth like her father. Monk couldn't believe his eyes. "You look beautiful." "Thank you." She mouthed, but didn't say. Sharona looked at Monk with warm, loving eyes and said, "You wanna hold your daughter, daddy?" He handled her with such care. A tear rolled down his cheek. Sharona barely said, "Can I have her back?" He nodded, and once again placed his daughter into her mother's arms. "What about Trudy Alice?" He nodded once again. "It's the perfect name for her." Another tear rolled down his cheek. Somehow she knew it wasn't just the baby that made him cry. It was Trudy's memories too. He didn't need to tell her what he was thinking, she already knew. "I'm sure Trudy can see her now, and I know she's happy for you." "For us." He corrected her with yet another tear and a smile. He kissed her and Trudy on her forehead. "Is it okay to tell your family to come in now?" One of the nurses asked. The proud new parents looked up for a minute only smiling and nodding. "You can come in now." The nurse led Benjy and his half- sleeping family to Sharona. "Hi everyone!" Sharona said exhausted. "Meet the newest member of our family: Trudy Alice Monk." Everyone was in awe. "Can I hold her first mom?" Benjy asked. This was the third time in his life when he thought he felt the happiest for his mom and Adrian. "She's amazing." He looked at his mom, who looked longingly at Trudy. "You're amazing mom." Benjy carefully handed the baby to Gail, who thought I can't believe I'll have my own baby in a couple of months. She looked at Randy, who smiled and knew what she was thinking. Gail carefully passed the baby to Randy, who didn't really know what to think. Randy handed Trudy to Sharona's mother, who said, looking at Sharona, "I remember feeling like this when Benjy was born." Gail and Sharona nodded. A couple of hours later, Captain Stottlemeyer came in to say congratulations to everyone. When he held Trudy, he had the kindest look on his face, a look that Monk and Sharona had never seen before. "What's her name?" He asked. Adrian and Sharona looked at each other. Sharona said, "Trudy Alice." The Captain smiled. "You must be so proud." "We are." They said at the same time. "I remember my son when he was born." Monk and Sharona nodded. "She's beautiful." "Thank you." They said simultaneously. They couldn't have been happier or prouder of themselves and Trudy. Little did they know, Trudy Anne Monk looked down upon them, in happiness and sadness. She wished that could be hers and Monk's baby, but she knew that everything happened for a reason, even her death had a purpose. If Trudy hadn't died, Monk and Sharona may have never met, and who knows what Benjy and Sharona's lives would be like without Adrian Monk? Gail may have never met Randy, they might have never gotten married, and who knows what their lives would be like either? Everything happens for a reason. Everything has a purpose in life. No matter how small or insignificant it might seem, it could ultimately change someone's life.  
  
END 


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